2009 Diversity Celebration Performers
2009 Diversity Celebration Performers
Red Herring Puppet Theater- Roan Mountain, 3:30 & 4:30 p.m.
www.redherringpuppets.com
http://www.redherringpuppets.com/children_aesop.html
Red Herring Puppets have created an original rhymed version of the classic tales told with music and large table top puppets. These timeless stories are simple to understand and address topics relevant to school age children such as bullying, selfishness, competition, ingenuity, and the affirmation that little beings can achieve great things. The show is designed for pre-K through 5th grade and includes The Lion and the Mouse, The Tortoise and the Hare, the Owl and the Grasshopper, The Fox and the Crow, The Crow and the Pitcher and The Stork and the Fox.
"POP" Ferguson and the BLUES REVUE- Roan Mountain, 5:45 p.m.
www.popfergusonblues.com
Five very talented musicians comprise this dynamic group: 81-year old lead guitar and vocalists, rhythm guitarist (30 years of experience), a harmonica player and a full rhythm section. From Delta, to Chicago, to Memphis, to Jump, to Acoustic or Electric Blues, "POP" Ferguson and the BLUES REVUE does it all! Relax to the sultry siren song of Pop's guitar while it lures you to the Chicken Shack in the North Carolina Foothills or to the smoky juke joints in Chicago's back streets. You will remember the Saturday night fish fries and dances when good tunes were the elixir which intoxicated both young and old. With a flick of Pop's pick, his guitar will whisk you to the foot-stomping, hand-clapping back country churches nestled in the South, with some real down home gospel.
T.V. Barnett and the Roan Mountain Moonshiners- Roan Mountain, 7:00 p.m.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=164757499
I have played guitar (a little) most of my life. Several years ago I started playing the banjer and just a few years back I picked up the fiddle and have been learning to play it. Then in about the year 2000 I started up my own band "The Roan Mountain Moonshiners" and surrounded myself with good musicianers--Mary Mays from Upper Slickum, TN (guitar,banjer,lap dulcimer, doghouse) and rhodyjane meadows from Big Stone Gap, VA (doghouse, banjer, autoharp, lap dulcimer). When Amy Michaels (from Creston, NC) joins us on the clawhammer banjer, the music is hard to beat and the girls' singing sounds sweeter than peep frogs in the spring. (It tickles us when good friends, such as Bob VanHorn, Art Lang, Burl Mast, Bill Gilbert & others "sit-in" with us, also.) We play "get-up-and-go" east Tennessee-style oldtime mountain music with the fiddle (and sometimes the banjer) cross-tuned.
Crys Matthews- Cascades, 3:30 p.m.
http://www.reverbnation.com/crysmatthews
http://www.myspace.com/crysmatthews
Offering an eclectic blend of funk, blues and jazz singer/songwriter, Crys Matthews brings a refreshing new sub-genre to Neo-Soul. With influences ranging from Otis Redding all the way to Ani DiFranco and having been compared to artists as diverse in sound and style as Jill Scott and Tracey Chapman it's no wonder there isn't a box large enough to encompass what she likes to call FuBlueJazz.
Mariachi Mexico 2000- Cascades, 5:00 p.m.
http://www.mariachi4u.com/usa/mexico2000.htm
The Mariachi Mexico 2000 consists of 5 members including 2 trumpets, a violin, vihuela and Guitarrón, The Mariachi Mexico 2000 is one of the most harmonic bands. We are only 5 elements and our passion for this folkloric music makes us sound like a huge band. We have a big repertoire (Classic, instrumental, folkloric, etc).
The Butterpats- Cascades, 6:30 p.m.
The Butter pats are made up of our girls, ages 7, 9, 9, and 11, who sing, harmonize, and play fiddle, banjo, and mandolin. They are backed up by John Cockman. They perform old-time, bluegrass, folk and gospel.
ASU Extension Chords- Cascades, 7:00 p.m.
http://www.myspace.com/asuextensionchords
Started in 2004, the ASU Extension Chords are a co-ed a cappella group dedicated to their music and having fun performing. We proudly perform around App's campus as well as other schools. We aim to please as well as inspire crowds, and will gladly do so anytime, anywhere. Our songs range from the 80's, 90's and today and the ridiculous freestyle of Kenan whenever we are lucky. We do live shows and love to perform. Live tracks will be available on the site soon. Look for us around campus!
ASU H20 Hip Hop Oasis- Cascades, 7:45 p.m.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu1641nWnyY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nKsiHKRHG0
H2O Hip Hop Oasis dance team was established four years ago by a female ASU student who wanted to create and be a part of something completely different on this campus. H2O was able to bring another form of culture to ASU than what
wasn't already here. It gives students a chance to be a part of an exciting, fun, and entertaining dance team that enjoys every performance they put on. Rather it be on the campus or off, they enjoy spreading hip hop culture.
Urban Legacy- Cascades, 8:00 p.m.
Urban Legacy is an open club on campus who not only has a mission of teaching Appalachian students how to breakdance, but they also spread the history of hip hop and breakdancing. They have held two different breakdance battles on campus bringing dancers from all over the east coast. Also Urban Legacy also plans several trips to different battles and hip hop summits across North Carolina.
Gabrielle Simmons- Crossroads, 3:00 p.m.
Blues guitarist
Meade Richter and Band- Crossroads, 4:30-5:00 p.m.
Traditional oldtime music.
Three Graces Entertainment International Dances with Saphira- Crossroads, 5:45 p.m.
www.threegracesentertainment.com
Instructor and students will perform Middle Eastern dances including Egyptian Saidi Cane, Egyptian Raks Sharki, Veil, Sword, and Spanish Fan.
Turbo Pro Project- Crossroads, 7:45 p.m.
www.turboproproject.com
The word “fusion” is the key word to this band. A heavy rhythm backdrop is punctuated by keyboard notes and heavy metal banjo. Turbo has an electric Deering banjo and his fluid playing makes “Cluck Old Hen” sound supercharged on chicken fuel. The melody is played simply and then all the other instruments are layered on top of the banjo until the whole tune vibrates with rhythm.
Dry Creek Medicine Drum- Solarium, 3:00 p.m.
http://drycreekmedicine.tripod.com
Dry Creek Medicine is a Southern Style Native American drum group. Three of their members are enrolled members of The Edisto Tribe of the Natchez-Kusso Indians from Ridgeville, South Carolina. One member is Cherokee, and one member is Creek-Cherokee.
ASU South African Choir- Solarium, 4:00 p.m.
This presentation is a performance of South African traditional music. The songs include several indigenous languages and movements that accompany a cappella harmonies. Like the music of Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the Soweto Gospel Choir, the songs have great meaning for South African people and a treasured place in the culture of post-Apartheid South Africa.
ASU African Percussion and Dance Ensemble- Solarium, 5:00 p.m.
http://www.music.appstate.edu/percussion/african2.html
The ASU African Ensemble performs folkloric music from various indigenous groups of Guinea, Mali, Ghana, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Centrafique. Function in African society and improvisational techniques are discussed and explored. Occasional focus is given Afro-Caribbean styles such as those found in Haiti and Cuba. Inseparable from dance, the ensemble performs three to four songs per semester in conjunction with performers from the ASU Dance Department, thereby completing the African Ensemble.
ASU Japanese Taiko Drum Ensemble- Solarium, 6:15 p.m.
http://www.oneinchpunch.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/taiko-drums.jpg
The Japanese word, "taiko," simply means "big drum." However, Taiko has become a familiar term used around the world to symbolize a style of ensemble drumming that originated in Japan in the middle of the 20th century. Groups like KODO and Ondekoza have helped Taiko become a world-renowned musical genre. This music has existed in the United States since 1968, and in U.S. colleges here since 1990. Appalachian Taiko is the newest music ensemble at ASU, and we hope to be around for a long time to come.
The Lost Jewels of the Ghawazee- Solarium, 7:00 p.m.
http://www.lostjewelsbellydance.com/
The Lost Jewels of the Ghawazee (pronounced ga-was-ee), an ethnic fusion belly dance troupe based in Granite Falls, N.C., proudly carry on the rich multicultural history of what is often called “the oldest dance in the world.” Composed of nine women of varying ages, sizes and backgrounds from western North Carolina, the troupe blends folkloric and modern dance into their own unique style they refer to as “ethnic fusion.” Their choreographies are flavored with movements found in dances from India, Spain, Morocco, Egypt, Latin America and the Middle East. Troupe members are constantly exploring new and different dance styles to incorporate into their repertoire. The Lost Jewels share those many cultures—and their pure love of dance—by performing regularly at area festivals, arts events, nonprofit fundraising events and public school functions. The troupe was founded six years ago by lead dancer and mentor Becky “Neela” Shook, who has studied belly dance for fifteen years. Her love of dance led to the creation of the Art in Motion dance studio in Granite Falls where she and partners Debbie Burns and Kim Edmisten offer dance classes for all levels of interest.
ASU Gospel Choir- Solarium, 8:15
http://www.music.appstate.edu/gospelchoir/index.html
The Appalachian State University Gospel Choir started as a Bible Study for the Black Student Association. It is now an official music school ensemble and is one of the most dynamic musical groups in the Southeastern United States. This group, comprised of ASU students, is both a popular class and an active ministry. Performing for prisons, churches, and schools, ASU Gospel Choir takes every opportunity to spread the “Good News”. They have toured in several major cities including Atlanta, Nashville, and Washington, D.C. This past spring the choir toured in the Sunshine State, rendering performances in Port St. Lucie and Orlando. It is the love of God, ministry, and music that inspires these singers. The choir has one-hundred ten singers and a band consisting of drums, bass guitar, lead guitar, piano, saxophones, trumpet, and trombone. Within the Gospel Choir is another group called Genesis. This group is a small ensemble that leads praise and worship at area churches. The ASU Gospel Choir performs a variety of sacred music including Negro Spirituals, Black Gospel, and Contemporary Praise and Worship.
K. Sridhar- Whitewater Café, 5:45 p.m.
www.Sridhar.org
Two traditions co-exist in India, that of the North (Hindustani) and of the South (Carnatic). They share the same basic systems but differ greatly in the instruments used, by the Ragas played, and by the concept of musical expression. Mastery of both traditions is not only rare but gives K. Sridhar's music a universality that is both profound and illuminating.
Andy Cohen- Whitewater Café, 7:30-9:00 p.m.
http://www.andycohenmusic.net/
Andy Cohen grew up in a house with a piano and a lot of Dixieland Jazz records, amplified after a while by a cornet that his dad got him. At about fifteen, he got bitten by the Folk Music bug, and soon got to hear records by Big Bill Broonzy and the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, both of which reminded him of the music he grew up to. At sixteen, he saw Rev. Gary Davis, and his course was set. He knew he had it in him to follow, study, perform and promote the music of the southeast quadrant, America¹s great musical fountainhead.
Kirby Welch and Stone- ASU Bookstore, 3:00 p.m.
Oldtime music
Salsa- Linville Falls, 3:00 p.m.
ASU Hispanic Student Association members will teach Salsa lessons, a typical Latin American traditional and contemporary form of dance.
Capoeira- Linville Falls, 4:00 p.m.
Capoeira is a Brazilian Martial Art that combines dance-like movements, music and self-defense techniques into a playful and creative performance. Participants are introduced to capoeira basic kicks, traditional songs, percussion instruments and a live "Roda" or capoeira game.
Zouk, Mbalax and Coupe Decale - Linville Falls, 5:30 p.m.
Contemporary African Dance with Amadou (Baba) Ndiaye.
West African Traditional Dances- Linville Falls, 6:00 p.m.
Traditional dances from Ghana, Kenya, Senegal & Guinea accompanied by ASU African Percussion & Dance Ensemble.
Contra Dance- Linville Falls,7:00 p.m.
English Folk Dance with Mark Freed and Jesse Edgerton accompanied by local traditional musicians and JAM students (Junior Appalachian Musicians).
Flatfooting & Circle Dance- Linville Falls, 7:45 p.m.
Appalachian Dance with Mark Freed and Rebecca Keeter accompanied by local traditional musicians and JAM students (Junior Appalachian Musicians).
Orville Hicks- Multicultural Center, 3:00 p.m.
http://www.geocities.com/orvillehickssite/
Orville Hicks grew up the youngest of eleven children in a farm family in Western Watauga County, North Carolina. He remembers his boyhood as a hard but happy time and works these memories into his storytelling. Growing up featured storytelling as an important entertainment, work incentive, and expression of family and community unity. Orville's creative carrying on of tales and his reworking of them in changing of contexts represents a singular development of Mountain Folk narrative tradition.
Mary Gray- Multicultural Center, 3:45 p.m.
Mary Gray will tell Welsh Folktales
Julia Taylor Ebel- Multicultural Center, 4:30 p.m.
http://www.juliaebel.com/
Poet and author Julia Taylor Ebel specializes in Appalachian folklore and history.
Baha’i Presentation- Multicultural Center, 5:15 p.m.
Learning to sing in German!
ASU Native American Council- Multicultural Center, 5:30 p.m.
Native American dancing, singing and storytelling
The Underground Railroad: Follow The Drinking Gourd With Audrey Tate And Rev. Morris Hatton- Multicultural Center, 6:15 p.m.
Judith Geary- Multicultural Center, 6:45 p.m.
http://www.judithgeary.com/
Judith Geary’s historical novel, Getorix: The Eagle and The Bull, a Celtic adventure in ancient Rome, dramatizes the personal conflict of two young men from these competing cultures. The author calls Geotrix an adventure for young adults of any age. Judith will be reading an excerpt from her book.
Brazil Presentation- Multicultural Center, 7:15 p.m.
Dancing, singing and storytelling
Bill Kaiser- Multicultural Center, 7:45 p.m.
http://williamfkaiser.tripod.com/
Bill Kaiser’s first novel, Bloodroot, takes readers on a romantic adventure in the NC Mountains during the Civil War. While a work of fiction it presents realistically the upheaval in southern Appalachian society by the events of that war. Bill will share an excerpt from his book.
First Year Seminar Presentation- Multicultural Center, 8:15 p.m.
Participants will attempt to view and understand their own culture through the “lens” of a created culture.
Nora Percival- Multicultural Center, 8:45 p.m.
/http://norapercival.tripod.com/
Nora Percival’s American life began when she immigrated from Russia as a child with her parents. Weather of the Heart: A Child’s Journey out of Revolutionary Russia, her first book, published when she was in her late 80s, relates this timeless story of coming to a new world. Silver Pages on the Lawn, the memoir of her college years in New York, relies on her memories and letters shared with Herman Gunn, a young German poet, and the love forbidden by Nora’s strict Jewish
father. Nora will share some of her writing.
